Ballot box



{No.Model.)

2 vi'hee'us--Sheet 1. L. STOGKSTROM.

BALLOT B0X.

Patented Mar. '7, 1893.

(No Model.) .9 2 sheets-sheetv 2'.

L. STOCKSTROM.

l BALLoT BOX. No. 493,195. Patented Mar. 7, 1893.

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` I v Magaa@ UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

LOUIS STOOKSTROM, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE GEO. D. BARNARD du COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BALLOT-BOX.

'SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,195, dated March 7, 1893. Application filed August 1, 1892. Serial No. 441.811. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs STocKsTRoM, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement in Ballot-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The improvement relates to the mode of closing the box after the ballots have been inserted: to the means for preventing the surreptitious insertion of ballots: to the means for strengthening the box: all, together with minor details of construction, substantially as is hereinafter set forth and claimed, aided bythe annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of the improved box: Fig. 2 an end elevation of the same: Fig. 3 a plan ot' that portion of the box which more directly includes the door, which is shown open: Fig. 4 a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2: Fig. 5 a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2,the door of the box being closed, andA the guard which controls the passage through which the ballots are introduced being adj usted to open said passage: and Fig. 6 a vertical section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. The last four named views are upon an enlarged scale.

The same letters of reference denote the same parts.

A represents the body of the box.

While certain features of the improvement can be carried out with the body of the box otherwiseformed I prefer the cylindrical form, or a substantiallycylindricalform as shown, as thereby a stronger box, generally considered,

in proportion to its weight is obtained, and

especially one which is stronger in the vicinity of the opening of the box, thereby enabling a lighter door frame and door to be used than would be the case if the construction at this point were dat. The body may rest upon suitable legs, a, a., and a handle is provided which is preferably in the form of a bail a.

The ballots are introduced into the box through the passage B. This passage is preferably formed in the door, C, of the box. That is, the passage might be in any part of the shell of the box, and the door, which is to provide access to the interior of the box for the purpose of removing its contents, and for other purposes, might be imperforate. But, for various reasons, it is better to have the passage in question directly in the cover as shown. The leading feature of this portion ofthe construction is the means for closing the passage, after lthe ,ballots have been inserted in the box, in such a manner as to prevent the passage from being opened saving from the interior ot the box. This is accomplished as follows: D represents a slide arranged from theinner side ofthe door and having an opening d. The slide is adapted to be moved in suitable guides d', d', which are attached to the door toward the ends respectively thereof, and it is provided with a handle in the form of a projection, d2, which projects outward through, and is adapted to be moved in, a slot, c', in the door C. The movementof the slide is determined by means of a suitable stop, such as the rib or ribs, c2, in one direction, and in the other direction by means of the rib or ribs c3. When the slide is adjusted to open the passage B, its opening d coincides with the passage B, and the free end, e, of a dog E, overlaps the slide, substantially as is represented in Fig. 5; when the slide is adjusted to close the passage B, its opening, d, is out of coincidence with the passage B, and in this position the slide has been moved suftlciently for the end e, of said dog to move into position to act as a stop to conline the slide and prevent its withdrawal from its position by any means applied from Without the box. This position is shown in Fig. 3, and more distinctly in Fig. 4., and so long as the dog :remains in this position the slide cannot be readj usted to open the passage B. To this end the dog can be variously constructed and operated. I prefer to make it automatic so far as the dogging of the slideiis concerned, and I prefer to make it in the form of a spring so contrived that it shall, as soon as the slide is moved from above it, spring upward into the plane of the slide as shown in Fig. 4. But however designed the dog cannot be adj usted to release the slide without rst opening the door C. When the door has been opened, as in Fig. 4, the dog is accessible and its free roo end can be lifted out of the plane of the slide, whereupon the slide can be moved again into its position of Fig. 5.

F represents a suitable lock for secu rin g the door C in its closed position, for which purpose the door is provided with a perforated lug, c3, in which the bolt, f, of the lock is adapted to engage substantially as shown at Fig. 5. Then the door is closed the series of projections c4, with which the door, along its edges, is furnished, engage with a corresponding series of projections, g, extending horizontally from the inner edge of the door frame G. That is, the projections, c4, respectively extend into the spaces between the projections g. Owing to this crossing of said projections it becomes impracticable to pass a ballot into the box through the joint between the door and its frame. The ribs, c2, c3, and also the additional ribs, c5, upon the inner side of the door, are an additional means for preventing the improper insertion ot the ballot.

It is desirable for the box, for the purposes of transportation or handling, to be as light as is practicable, and at the same time suitably durable, and it is also desirable to minimize its cost. To these ends, in place of making the box with dat surfaces I construct it so that the principal portion of its shell, and more especially the portion, a2, which more immediately surrounds the described doorand doorway, is convex, and this is best accomplished by making the box in the cylindrical form substantially as shown. The door frame and door can thus be curved to conform to the curvature of the body of the box, and be suticiently strong and at the same time lighter in weight than if made fiat. The door is preferably furnished, at its inner side, and inthe vicinity of its hinges, c6, with lugs, c7, which, when the door is closed, lap upon the under side ot the door frame, as shown substantially in Fig. 5, and so as to prevent the door from being lifted out of its place in the doorway in the event its hinges are broken. The door therefore, so long as its lock bolt is in engagement with the lug, c3, cannot be opened.

In operation, the door slide is adjusted to open the passage B, and the door closed and locked, and the box prepared as indicated in Fig. 5, and the ballots are deposited by dropping them through the passage B. After the votes have been deposited the slide, by means of its projection, is drawn into the position of Figs. and 4i, whereupon the spring-dog moves into position to confine the slide, and the passage B, is now closed and access to the interior of the box can only be had by first unlocking the door.v

It is customary, after the voting is closed, to seal, for a certain period, the ballot box, and to this end Iany suitable means, such as a piece of paper, ribbon, or other equivalent device, not shown, can be applied in any suitable manner to the outer side of the closed box.

I claim# 1. A ballot box having a passage leading through its shell into its interior for the purpose of introducing the ballots, said passage being adapted to be closed by means of a slide movable upon the inner side of said shell, and securable in its closed position by means of a dog moving into the plane of said slide, said slide having a projection extending through said shell to enable it to be moved from the outer side of said shell substantially as described.

2. The hereindescribed ballot box having the doorway and door, said door being perforated for the introduction of the ballots, and having upon its inner side the adjustable perforated slide, and the spring dog, said slide having a projection extending through said door to enable said slide to be moved from the outer side of said door for the purpose of closing the ballots-perforation in the door, and said door having a lock substantially as described.

3. The hereindescribed ballot-box, having the body, the door frame, and the door, said door frame and door each being provided with a series of projections, which, when said door closes, interlock, substantially as described.

lVitness my hand this 29th day otJuly, 1802.

LOUIS S' ()CKSTROM Vitnesses:

C. D. MOODY, A. BoNvILLn. 

